Scars Are Forever
by CanzetYote
Summary: The Adventures Of Blinky Bill. Shifty Dingo X Nutsy. After Splodge's evil dingo-hating cousin Jeromy arrives in Greenpatch, will the dingo family be broken apart?
1. Not Extraordinary

_This is an Adventures Of Blinky Bill fanfic I wrote. It's a sequel to my fic I'll Stand By You. It starts off light but gets darker and darker as the chapters pass. It has a total of 7 chapters and deals very strongly on the subject of Shifty Dingo X Nutsy. It also contains a particularly heinous Complete Monster (gotta love TVTropes) OC villain, Splodge's abusive cousin Jeromy who is a kangaroo who hates dingoes to the point where he tortures and kills them in all sorts of brutal ways. He hurts Shifty Dingo really badly in the 3rd chapter and does something even worse to Danny Dingo in the 4th so read at your own risk. Rated M for violence/gore, strong language and a mildly erotic PDA scene involving Shifty and Nutsy ear-nipping and neck-licking each other._

Shifty let out a happy sigh as he lay on the beach with Nutsy, watching the sunrise with her. "It's so quiet, so peaceful." the little dingo said, smiling at Nutsy. "Just the sounds of nature, the feeling of the sand between your toes..."

"No crazy schemes, no arguing family, no angry mother yelling at you." Nutsy finished his sentence.

"Hey, I was gonna say that." Shifty chuckled playfully.

"I know, I was just messing with you." Nutsy giggled, playfully honking Shifty on the nose.

Shifty smiled, "It's a secret I've been keeping from my family for quite some time, this spot. They all argue so much it gives me a headache and I always come here to relax."

"I know, it must be tough." Nutsy said, putting her arm around Shifty. Shifty smiled as he gazed deep into Nutsy's eyes. The koala and dingo leaned forward and kisses each other on the lips.

"If I could catch any cooties in the world, I'd wanna catch yours, Nutsy" Shifty joked.

And with that, Nutsy leapt on Shifty and started tickling him. The little dingo started laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face. "Cooties? Say uncle, Shifty!"

"Okayokayokay...hahahahaha...Uncle! Please stop!" Shifty giggled. Nutsy stopped and Shifty let out a sigh. "I love you so much, Nutsy." Shifty said as he put his arm around her.

"Me, too" Nutsy said, kissing him on the cheek. The little dingo's blush could be seen seeping through his light blond fur. Suddenly, the two were hit by a big splash on water and heard hearty laughter.

"Blinky!" Nutsy shouted, "Now my dress is all wet!"

"Yeah, we were having a good time till you showed up!" Shifty added, glaring at the laughing koala.

"Looks like you two lovebirds are all washed up!" Blinky laughed, "If I could catch any cooties in the world, I'd wanna catch yours, Nutsy" the male koala laughed, mimicing Shifty's voice, "That's the cheesiest line I've ever heard!"

"Don't you have someplace to be, Blinky?" Nutsy asked angrily.

"Yeah, why don't you go put lit firecrackers in Miss Magpie's desk and see how long it takes for you to be expelled?" Shifty asked Blinky sarcastically.

"Expelled? As in no school? Shifty, you're a genius! I'll go get the firecrackers right away!" Blinky shouted with joy.

Shifty slapped his paw to his forehead. Apparently, Blinky didn't catch on to his sarcasm. "Oh, me and my smart mouth." he groaned.

"It's okay, I'm sure Blinky thought you were being sarcastic. I hope." Nutsy said.

"I really should watch what I say around him." Shifty replied.

The koala girl got up and stretched "Well, Shifty. I better get going. You know, I don't want Blinky to hurt himself." Nutsy said.

"Yeah. It's not like he's going to burn the school down or anything." Shifty chuckled nervously.

Nutsy kissed Shifty goodbye and headed for the koala family home.

"Blinky, I really think Shifty was being sarcastic about the firecracker thing." Nutsy tried reasoning with Blinky.

"Are you kidding? That clever dingo gave me an idea for a brilliant plan!" Blinky grinned.

"Yes, so brilliant in fact the school will go up in smoke." Nutsy said sarcastically.

"You're just jealous that Shifty thought of such a great plan." Blinky chuckled.

"Shifty didn't think of any plan, you took what he said and twisted it around in that prankster mind of yours." Nutsy said.

"Oh boy, I can't wait to see the look on her face when her desk catches fire." Blinky giggled uncontrollably.

Nutsy rolled her eyes, "Maybe you should look sarcasm up in the dictionary." she said, adding her lunch to her backpack.

"Aw, who needs reading and dictionaries? All you ever need in life is to have a good time." Blinky laughed.

"And fireworks." Nutsy replied sarcastically.

"See? That's the spirit, Nutsy!" Blinky cheered, ignoring her sarcasm just as he did with Shifty.

"Oh, me and by smart mouth." Nutsy groaned, echoing Shifty from before.

Blinky loaded the firecrackers in his backpack along with a book of matches and the two koalas walked out the door and headed to school.

Blinky and Nutsy entered the school. Luckily for Blinky, Miss Magpie was in the back room talking to Flap's parents. Blinky struck a match against the desk and lit the firecracker. "You know what, Blinky? I'm not even going to try and stop you this time. I'll just let nature take its course and hope you learn your lesson." Nutsy said.

Shifty walked into the room and noticed Blinky putting the lit firecracker into Miss Magpie's desk and his eyes widened in horror, "Blinky, are you INSANE! You could get us killed with a stunt like that! I was only kidding when-"

"Shut up, Shifty! You'll ruin the surprise." Blinky interrupted the dingo.

"Just let Blinky have his fun, Shifty. He'll learn his lesson the hard way." Nutsy said. Shifty whimpered at the thought of the school bursting into flames.

Flap, Splodge and Marcia entered. "You guys, Blinky just put a lit firework into Miss Magpie's desk!" Shifty informed them.

"Are you serious?" Flap asked. Shifty nodded and started to cry, tears dripping from his eyes "I don't want the school to burn down." the little dingo sobbed.

"Turn off the waterworks, ya big crybaby!" Marcia snapped at Shifty. "The school won't burn down. Magpie's desk will just catch fire." the mouse explained.

Shifty sniffed and wiped his eyes, "I sure hope so because I don't want to be homeschooled by Ma and Danny."

"Besides if the school catches fire, you can always put out the flames with your tears, Shifty." Flap laughed.

"Oh, that's so funny I forgot to laugh. It's almost as funny as your speech impediment." Shifty countered Flap with pure sarcasm.

"OOOOH! Flap, you just got burned by Shifty!" Marcia laughed. Flap looked speechless, he really wasn't expecting Shifty to say something like that.

Miss Magpie finally walked in and she sniffed around, she could smell smoke. She looked over to her desk and noticed smoke coming out of it. Shifty walked up to Miss Magpie and casually handed her the fire extinguisher, "Here, you might need this. It was Blinky's idea."

"This must be some sort of joke, Blinky." Miss Magpie said. The students watched anxiously as Miss Magpie sat at her desk and cautiously opened the lid. Suddenly, a bunch of fireworks shot out of Miss Magpie's desk and it burst into flames as she jumped back. The students except Nutsy and Shifty all burst into hysterical laughter. Even Splodge couldn't help but snicker. All her papers, all her class assignments, went up in smoke. Miss Magpie was absolutely FURIOUS.

"Blinky, YOU. ARE. EXPELLED!" Miss Magpie shouted.

"Good, cause I'm sick of school!" Blinky shouted.

Miss Magpie put out her burning desk with the fire extinguisher. She was so furious that the kids watched in shock and she grabbed her smouldering desk and chucked it clear across the classroom. "Children, class is out for today. I'm going to have a talk with Blinky's parents."

"Ooooh, you really messed up this time, Blinky." Flap said.

"Yeah, I've never seen Miss Magpie so mad." Splodge added.

"Relax, you guys. I'm out of boring old school for good, what is the worst that could happen to me?"

Later...

"Military school? But mom-" Blinky started.

"No buts, Blinky. This is the straw that broke the camel's back. You're going to learn real discipline this time and you're not going to like it." Blinky's mother said.

"I can't believe you would do this to your own son." Blinky said, tears forming in his eyes. "I HATE YOU, YOU NEVER LET ME HAVE ANY FUN!" Blinky screamed as he stormed off into his room in tears.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Blinky's mother opened it. It was Shifty Dingo. "Hi, , is Nutsy here today?"

"She's out shopping with her father but you can see Blinky is you like." Blinky's mother said.

"Thanks, . You must be awfully cross over what happened with Blinky at school today." Shifty said.

"Oh, you have no idea, Shifty." Blinky's mother replied.

"I brought some cookies for Nutsy but I don't think Blinky would mind a couple." Shifty said.

"He's very upset right now, he just yelled at me so now may not be the best-" Blinky's mother explained.

"Oh, nonsense." Shifty interrupted, "everyone needs a cookie to cheer them back up!"

Blinky's mother sighed to herself. Maybe she was wrong about Shifty all along. He was a very sweet, but misunderstood young dingo.

Shifty knocked on Blinky's bedroom door. "GO AWAY!" Blinky sobbed.

"It's me, Shifty. I thought a couple cookies would cheer you up so-" Blinky swung open his bedroom door and glared at Shifty.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT YOU WHINY LITTLE SISSY!" Blinky shouted at the dingo. Shifty meekly handed Blinky a cookie. "I don't want your cookie, you MANGY PIECE OF TRASH!" Blinky grabbed the cookie, broke it in two and threw it on the floor. "All you ever do is cause trouble. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WERE EVEN BORN!"

Shifty felt his eyes burn with tears, "But Blinky, I was only joking, I didn't mean..."

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU SO MUCH! It's all YOUR FAULT I got EXPELLED and sent to MILITARY SCHOOL! Why don't you just CURL UP INTO A BALL AND DIE! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU EVER AGAIN!" And with that, Blinky slapped Shifty really hard across the face, grabbed his bag of cookies, threw them onto the floor and stomped them until they were nothing but crumbs.

Shifty closed his eyes and wept softly, tears starting to run down the side of his muzzle, "I'm so sorry I caused you so much trouble, Blinky." He whimpered softly. And with that, Shifty stormed out of the koala household sobbing uncontrollably. The dingo zipped past Nutsy and her father who were returning from the shopping trip.

Nutsy gave Blinky the most disgusted look she could possibly give someome, "I hope your happy, Blinky. I overheard the whole thing. You owe him an apology cause that was just evil."

"So?" Blinky snorted, "He deserved it."

Nutsy glared at Blinky, "You make me sick." she hissed. And with that, the female koala chased after the crying dingo.

"Kids these days." Nutsy's father chuckled.

Nutsy eventually caught up with Shifty. He was sitting at the same beach where he and Nutsy always cuddled. His little dingo frame was trembling with sobs and his cheeks and muzzle were soaked with tears. Shifty's vision was too clouded with salty tears to even notice Nutsy's presence. That was until, he could feel arms wrapping around him and pulling him into a warm embrace.

"Sssssh, everything is going to be okay, Shifty. Don't listen to Blinky, he's just being a big bully. What's important is that you're with me now and nothing could ever tear us apart." Shifty could feel Nutsy's lips kissing away the wet teardrops off his face and he gently rubbed his eyes with his paws.

"Easy for you to say, Nutsy. You don't come from a family quite like mine." Shifty chuckled darkly.

"I know, but I lost my mother and my father got amnesia. We've both been through some very tough times, you and I." Nutsy said, giving Shifty a gentle back massage.

The dingo felt chills run down his spine as Nutsy rubbed his back. Not the bad kind of chills, but the good kind. "So true, Nutsy. So true..." Shifty muttered as he wiped one last tear from his muzzle with a claw.

"We're not so different from each other, Shifty. It took me a while to figure that out but now I understand." Nutsy said.

Shifty smiled and started wagging his tail with joy, "I know what you mean, Nutsy. I know what you mean."


	2. The Letter

_Jeromy arrives in this chapter. He is a total scumbag._

The school bell rang and all the children of Greenpatch sat down for school, everyone except Blinky.

"Now, class. Because of that incident yesterday, Blinky will no longer be joining us for class sessions. I had to stay up all night last night because most of my papers were burnt to crisps. Now, I'd like all of you to turn in your homework." Miss Magpie said.

"What happened to him, Miss Magpie?" Splodge asked.

"His parents are sending him off to military school. Hopefully, he learns his lesson there." Miss Magpie explained.

There was a knock at the door, "Telegram for Splodge Kangaroo!" the postman shouted. Miss Magpie opened the door and gave Splodge the letter.

"Oooh, you got mail Splodge! So, what's it say?" Shifty asked cheerfully.

Splodge opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. Suddenly, he went pale and looked like he was going to vomit. "Who's it from?" Flap asked.

"Yeah, you look like you've seen a ghost!" Marcia chimed in.

"It's from my cousin, Jeromy." Splodge said.

Shifty clapped and wagged his tail excitedly, "Yay! Your cousin is coming over!"

"No, Shifty. There's nothing to cheer about. He's the nastiest guy I know." Splodge said, "I think I'd like to go lay down in the nurse's office, Miss Magpie."

Miss Magpie sighed, "Oh, all right. But at least come back in time for lunch."

Splodge packed up his backpack and headed to the nurse's office. "Poor Splodge." Shifty sighed.

"I'll go check on him at lunch." Nutsy said.

Splodge sat in the nurse's office and closed his eyes, gently drifting off into sleep.

Suddenly, a kangaroo almost twice as large appeared before Splodge and grabbed him by his throat, a twisted grin growing on his face. "Let's play a little game, shall we?" the larger kangaroo asked Splodge in a twisted manner. "It's called buried alive and the only rule is that you get to stay underground for as long as you like. You win the game when you stop breathing."

"NO JEROMY, NO! STOP IT!" Splodge screamed as the giant kangaroo rammed him into the ground.

Splodge woke up in a cold sweat, he was breathing heavily and tears were rolling down his muzzle. His eyes darted to the clock on the wall. It was almost lunchtime. "It was all just a dream." he whispered to himself.

Nutsy entered the office and sat down by Splodge, "Now tell me, why are you so afraid of your cousin?"

"He's just plain evil. I'd rather be babysat by Ma Dingo then Jeromy. One time when he were kids, he saw me playing with one of his toys. He was so angry about it that he buried me alive in the yard. He's much larger than I am so I can't fight him back." Splodge sighed, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

"That's terrible! Did your parents know about it?" Nutsy asked the tearful kangaroo.

"They just said he was playing around and he didn't mean it. It was one of the most terrifying days of my life." Splodge shivered.

"Is there anything else he did?" Nutsy asked, horrified.

"He really REALLY hates dingoes. And I don't mean dislike them like we did when the dingoes first moved in. I mean, hates as in he likes to kill them or something. If he got his hands on Shifty, there's no telling what he'd do to him. He's pointed a gun at my head before and locked me in a closet and I'm not even a dingo!" Splodge explained to Nutsy.

Nutsy cringed at the mere thought of Shifty getting hurt, "Why does he hate dingoes so much?" she asked.

"He fell in love with one as a teenager. She broke his heart and he's been angry ever since." Splodge explained.

"Oh, well that makes sense." Nutsy said.

"Still doesn't give him an excuse for how terrible he is. Worse yet, after school today, he'll be babysitting me for a month while my parents go off on a romantic cruise. I don't know how long I'll survive." Splodge whimpered.

"Should I call the police?" Nutsy asked.

"No. Just don't. If he finds out you called the police on him, he'll kill you. His rich parents just bailed him out of prison for murder, he killed a little dingo girl. She was about Shifty's age. He shoved rocks down her throat to kill her. Just thinking about it makes me sick." Splodge explained.

"That's awful. I'll warn Shifty to stay away from him." Nutsy said.

"Yeah, cause if he finds out about Shifty, he'd most likely kill him." Splodge said.

Nutsy walked out of the nurse's office and joined Shifty at the lunch tables, "What's up with Splodge, Nutsy?" Shifty asked her.

"His cousin really hates dingoes. And by hates, he went to jail for killing a little dingo girl by shoving rocks down her throat." Nutsy explained.

Shifty's eyes widened and his jaw dropped, "Are you SERIOUS? Splodge's cousin is THAT bad!" Shifty shouted in horror. Nutsy nodded. "Well, if that's the case then I better steer clear of him."

For the rest of the schoolday, Splodge, Nutsy and Shifty were rather freaked out. Particularly Splodge, as he had to face his evil cousin. Eventually the school bell rang and the kids walked out.

A red convertible pulled up and sitting in the driver's seat was a large dark brown kangaroo with a single gold earring on his left ear. He wore a letterman jacket that was white with a dark blue collar. His eyes were a piercing, soulless coal black and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun and pointed it at Splodge. "Get it the car, cousin." Trembling, Splodge got in the passenger's seat.

"Hi...Jeromy, how is it g-g-going?" Splodge stammered. Jeromy shot his gaze over to Shifty and Nutsy who were chatting on a bench in the distance.

"You'll have to tell me about your so-called friends when we get home." Jeromy grinned evilly. "I'm thirsty for dingo blood and I can smell one a mile away." Splodge gulped at Jeromy's chilling comment.

And with that, Jeromy and Splodge drove off to the kangaroo home. Splodge tried his best to avoid eye contact the whole ride. Just looking into Jeromy's dark eyes was enough to make Splodge want to vomit.

The car pulled up to the house and the two kangaroos got out. "I'll just go and do my homework, okay?" Splodge told his older cousin.

Without warning, Jeromy grabbed Splodge by his throat and slammed him against the wall. He pulled a gun out of his pocket and held it to Splodge's head, "When I picked you up, I saw a dingo in the schoolyard. Would you mind telling me his name?"

"NO!" Splodge blurted out. Jeromy fired the gun, nothing happened. Splodge whimpered. "You know the rules of baseball, don't you? Three strikes and you're out. That was strike one. Two more, and you'll never see the light of day again. Tell me his name."

"Shifty. The dingoes name is Shifty." Splodge confessed, tears streaming down his face and muzzle.

"Good. Is he your friend? Say no. If you say yes, I'll shoot both your eyes out, got it?" Jeromy said.

"No, he isn't my friend." Splodge lied.

"How much do you hate him? Enough to torture him? Enough to kill him? Enough to maim him for life?" Jeromy asked.

"NO! I don't hate him!" Splodge shouted. Jeromy fired the gun again, another nothing happened. At this point, Splodge was sobbing really hard.

"Strike two! One more and you're out!" Jeromy chuckled sadistically.

"Yes! Yes! I want him dead, I hate his guts!" Splodge sobbed.

"Very good, Splodge. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Jeromy walked out onto the front lawn and fired his gun at an innocent bluebird. The bird collapsed in a pool of blood and a wicked smile spread across Jeromy's muzzle. "No point in letting good bullets go to waste. Besides, a death that quick would be too good for a mangy dingo."

Splodge shivered at the sight of the dead bird, just the thought of living with this guy made him sick to his stomach. Jeromy pointed the gun at Splodge, "Now go to your closet. If I see you out of your closet when I get back, I'm going to kill you, got it?" Splodge whimpered and scrambled for the closet. For the rest of the night, he fell asleep in the closet until the sun rose. Splodge cautiously walked out of the closet and looked around him to see if Jeromy was hiding in the shadows. Nothing. The normally tough kangaroo was so terrified he bolted for the door, not even bothering to grab his backpack as he zipped to school.

Meanwhile, a terrified Shifty was being loaded into the trunk of Jeromy's red convertible, bound and gagged. Jeromy grinned evilly at the little dingo, "We're gonna have so much fun, you and I. A nice warm campfire and scary ghost stories await us in the woods. It's camping time, little Shifty."

Shifty looked with complete shock and horror into Jeromy's soulless eyes as he casually shut the trunk. Everything went dark for the scared little dingo.


	3. Blood Of The Innocent

_POOR SHIFTY DINGO! *sniff* Jeromy is EVIL!_

Eventually, Jeromy arrived at the base of the woods and took Shifty out of the trunk. The terrified dingo watched as the kangaroo pulled some chains out of his car and ripped the gag off Shifty.

"W-W-W-What are you gonna d-d-do to m-me?" Shifty stuttered, hot tears dripping down his face like waterfalls.

"I told you, we're going to have such a fun time together!" Jeromy laughed sadistically. He then cut the ropes from Shifty's body and pointed his gun to Shifty's head, "If you try to run, I'm gonna blow your brains out, got it?" Jeromy said. Shifty nodded, sobbing uncontrollably.

And with that, Jeromy seized Shifty by his throat and pinned him to a tree. The little dingo was completely petrified as he tied him to the tree with the chains, "You see, Shifty. I'm in a rather playful mood."

"How do you know my name?" Shifty whimpered, blinking back the salty burning tears.

"A friend told me about you. He told me what a little bitch you were." Jeromy grinned.

Shifty sniffled, completely terrified, "S-so why are you h-h-hurting me? I never did a-anything t-to you."

Jeromy just laughed and pulled out a book of matches. It was the largest book of matches Shifty had ever seen. "See these matches? There are two dozen in this box. Do you know how much two dozen is?"

"T-twenty four?" Shifty whimpered timidly, salty tears trickling down his muzzle. The tears fell off Shifty's muzzle, dripping onto the chains that secured him to the tree.

"What a smart little boy you are, 24 is the correct answer. And you know what that means?" Jeromy asked him mockingly.

"N-no" The poor dingo stuttered.

"24 absolutely beautiful screams coming from your mouth." Jeromy chuckled evilly. And with that, Jeromy struck the first match against the tree and put it out on Shifty. The little dingo howled in unimaginable pain, his tears falling like rain. One by one, Jeromy lit the matches and used them to burn Shifty. The poor little dingo begged and pleaded with the kangaroo to stop but he kept going until there was only one match left.

"Stick out your tongue, boy." Jeromy snarled. Shifty shook his head and Jeromy pointed his gun and pressed it against Shifty's forehead. "DO IT OR I'LL SHOOT!" He screamed at the dingo.

The traumatized dingo stuck his tongue out and Jeromy stuck the final lit match on it. Shifty howled in pain, tears rolling down his cheeks from the extreme level of pain.

"Awww...all out of matches. I can't make any more beautiful music." Jeromy whined, wiping away an imaginary tear. Suddenly he grinned evilly and pulled out a switchblade, "Or can I?"

Shifty whimpered softly and gulped. He knew he was about to be in a world of hurt. Jeromy took Shifty's chains off and grabbed the little dingo by his throat, slamming him face-first into the ground. The kangaroo sat on top of Shifty and began sharpening his blade, "I wonder what your blood tastes like, I guess I'll soon find out."

Jeromy grabbed Shifty by his tail with one hand and used his other hand to slash the base of Shifty's tail. Shifty let out a howl of pain and Jeromy casually ran his tongue along the blade of the knife, tasting Shifty's blood, "Oh, so delicious. Wanna have a taste?" the kangaroo said, waving the blade in front of Shifty's face. Shifty whined. "Not hungry, eh? Suit yourself, more for me!" Jeromy laughed.

"So, do you have any dreams growing up?" Jeromy asked Shifty as he grinned evilly.

"Well, I've always wanted to be a magician. B-but I'm no good with magic." Shifty sobbed.

"A magician, huh? You know what my dream is?" Jeromy said. Shifty shook his head, a terrified look in his eyes.

Jeromy leaned forward and whispered in Shifty's ear, "Complete and total genocide of the dingo race." And with that, Jeromy slashed Shifty's tail again and Shifty screamed, tears falling onto the forest floor.

"I'd bet you'd love to hear about what I did to other dingoes I met, don't you?" Jeromy asked Shifty. Shifty shook his head no and Jeromy grinned, "Too bad cause its story time!"

Jeromy began, "Once upon a time there was a little dingo girl. She had the most beautiful blue eyes and the most precious smile. She could light up a room wherever she went. Wanna know what I did to her?" Shifty shook his head.

"I grabbed as many rocks as I possibly could and rammed then down her throat. She begged for me to stop as she coughed up blood. I just licked her delicious blood and told her that I was cleansing the earth of dingo scum like her. She died so slowly and painfully, just thinking about it makes me feel all tingly and warm inside. I also raped her really good!" Jeromy laughed sadistically.

And with that, Jeromy slashed Shifty's tail once more. at this point, Shifty's tail was halfway severed and Jeromy stuck the whole blade into his mouth, savoring the rusty taste of Shifty's blood, "So sweet and delicious." He murmured to himself coldly.

Shifty was just crying uncontrallably now. He couldn't stop the tears of pain from pouring out of his eyes. "Wanna hear another story?" Jeromy asked the dingo. Shifty was sobbing so hard he couldn't respond.

"I'll take that as a yes." Jeromy grinned. "Once upon a time, there was a family of four dingoes: a mom, a dad, a son and a daughter. They would do everything together and loved each other. One day, I poured antifreeze in their water supply to poison them. The thought of watching them slowly die one by one, it really makes me smile. It's a thought I'll cherish forever."

"Why do you hate dingoes so much?" Shifty whimpered softly.

Jeromy grinned at him, "I had a girlfriend who was a dingo. She dumped me, so I kidnapped her baby brother and set him on fire. You shoulda seen him burn."

Shifty just sniffled and Jeromy slashed his tail once more. The poor little dingo let out a bloodcurdling shreik of agony. "Oh, this is so tragic. How are you gonna wag your tail anymore when you lose it? Oh well, it's not my problem now, is it?" Jeromy said mockingly, ripping the rest of Shifty's tail off with his bare hands. Blood began spurting from Shifty's tailstump as he let out a horrific scream. Jeromy just laughed uncontrollably and wrapped Shifty's severed tail around his neck and began to pull. Shifty started gagging as he was being strangled by his own severed tail. A fresh batch of tears rolled down Shifty's cheeks as the panicked little dingo gasped for air. Jeromy laughed as he pulled the tail tighter and tighter. Eventually, Shifty blacked out and fell on the ground.

Jeromy peered down on Shifty's lifeless, bloody body and spit on it, "Say goodnight, you mangy little freak." the kangaroo grinned. And with that, Jeromy got into his red convertible and drove out of the forest.

By chance, Wombo had heard Shifty's final scream before the poor little dingo collapsed in a puddle of his own blood. The old wombat raced towards Shifty's body and knelt down beside it, tears filling his eyes. "Shifty? Who did this to you? Who could be so evil?"

Wombo scooped Shifty's limp body in his arms. He could feel a pulse so he knew the dingo was still alive. "Everything will be okay, Shifty. I'll get you to the hospital." With Shifty Dingo's body in his arms, he ran as fast as his old legs could carry him.

As he was carrying Shifty, the dingo opened his eyes a little and he looked at Wombo with a pleading expression in his eyes. "Wombo, please...am I gonna die?"

Wombo had to choke back the tears at the fear in Shifty's voice, "Everything will be all right, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Thank you...Wombo...thank you so..." before Shifty could finish his sentence, he went unconcious. Wombo began to cry as he ran out of the forest, screaming at the top of his lungs for help.

Meanwhile, it was lunch time at Miss Magpie's class. Both Nutsy and Splodge were worried sick over the fact that Shifty hadn't arrived to class yet. "I sure hope nothing bad happened to him." Nutsy looked over to Splodge and she watched a tear run down the kangaroo's muzzle.

"Splodge?" Nutsy asked, "are you okay?"

Splodge suddenly burst into tears, "It's all my fault! I told my cousin about Shifty. And...and...now Shifty might be..." the kangaroo wailed uncontrollably.

"What seems to be the matter, Splodge?" Miss Magpie asked.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Miss Magpie opened it. It was Mayor Pelican and he stood before the class, "Children, I have very bad news about Shifty Dingo, something terrible happened to him. He was found with his tail cut off and it was wrapped around his neck. He's in the hospital and he is currently in a coma. I am sorry."

Miss Magpie looked on in complete shock, "Class dismissed" she said. But for once, those words didn't bring any joy to the children. Some were crying, others were in complete shock, Splodge himself literally vomited all over his desk at the thought of his evil cousin killing Shifty. Nutsy was in complete and total shock, almost as if she were frozen still in time. She was absolutely speechless, wishing to herself that this was all a horrible nightmare and that she would wake up from it any second.

Eventually, Marcia broke the silence, "I'm going to go see if he's okay." The mouse dashed out of the classroom.

"Shifty may be a crybaby, but he's still our friend. I'm going too." Flap said.

"You can count me in as well." Splodge added.

"I...I don't know if I can do this...I don't know if I could see Shifty like that. What if I freak out? What if I cry? What if I vomit? What if I faint? What if..." Nutsy worried.

"You need to be strong, Nutsy." Splodge interrupted, "I don't think Shifty would like to see you like this."

Nutsy sighed, "You're right, Splodge. I'll first go get Blinky. Hopefully, this will open his eyes a little."


	4. Please Don't Die

_Shifty Dingo. In a coma. In the hospital. Yes, this is one of the darker chapters of my fic. And if you thought Jeromy was evil enough already, he really kicks things up a notch at the end of this chapter._

Nutsy and Blinky casually walked in the waiting room of the hospital and looked over to the dingo family. Ma was sitting angrily with her arms folded, Daisy was weeping openly with tears running down her muzzle, Danny was quiet, collected and cool and Meatball was crying as he ate out of a carton of ice cream. Blinky casually sat next to Danny and fidgeted a bit, finally breaking the silence, "So um Danny, I bet you're upset about your brother, huh?" Blinky asked nervously.

Danny growled a bit, "Yes, you could say that."

Nutsy glared at Blinky, "Well I hope you're happy, Blinky. You got your wish. Now Shifty is dying in the hospital. You didn't even bother to say sorry to him after making him cry like that. This is going to haunt you for the rest of your life if he doesn't pull through."

Blinky felt a lump form in his throat and tears sting his eyes. He began to sob, "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry..."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Shifty." Nutsy said.

"What happened?" Daisy asked, wiping her tears away.

"Blinky yelled at Shifty and said really mean things to him. All Shifty did was offer him cookies to cheer him up." Nutsy explained.

"Ungrateful little brat." Danny growled.

"I can't believe you would do that, Blinky!" Splodge said.

"Yeah, what a jerk!" Flap chimed in.

Blinky just lowered his head and sniffled, wiping at his eyes, "I wish I could just turn back time and..."

"You can't, it's impossible. You think I can go back in time to stop my schemes? No, but I can always turn over a new leaf when I feel like it. It's called reality. Deal with it." Danny Dingo said coldly.

Blinky sighed. Danny was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Nurse Angelina walked into the waiting room, her muzzle was stained with tears and her eyes were bloodshot from crying, "You can all see Shifty now, he isn't concious and I'll warn you, it isn't pretty."

"I'll take my chances." Danny said casually. And with that, they all entered the room.

Nutsy collpsed to her knees when she saw Shifty laying on the hospital bed. He was attached to a bunch of IVs and a few blood bags. He was on a heart rate monitor and tubes were going down his throat to supply oxygen to him. Shifty looked incredibly pale and sickly. Nutsy let out a scream as hot tears spilled out of her eyes and fell onto the tile floor of the hospital.

Blinky, Flap, Splodge and Marcia all ran to Nutsy's aid, trying their best to soothe and comfort the devastated koala.

Danny blinked back salty tears at the sight of his dying, sickly little brother and fought back a lump in his throat, "This makes me sick." The black dingo shook his head with disgust.

Danny felt a single bitter tear run down his dark muzzle and he quickly wiped it away but it was too late, Daisy noticed the tear and put her arm around Danny, "Is there anything you can do to save him?" Daisy whimpered.

Nurse Angelina tried her best not to cry. Being a seasoned nurse, she had seen a lot of injuries but not once had she seen a dingo as young as Shifty covered head to toe in burns with his tail cut off. Just the thought of what poor Shifty went through broke her heart.

"Let's hope for the best, that's all I can say. The real bad news is that we're almost out of dingo plasma. Shifty will need blood transfusion or he may die." Angelina said.

Danny looked around him and he noticed everyone was crying. The cool, black-furred, scheming dingo was trying his best not to break down when suddenly he blurted out, "I'm going to give Shifty a blood transfusion!"

Silence fell across the room and Daisy Dingo felt her jaw drop, "YOU? Donate BLOOD?" she asked. Danny nodded. "But Danny, you hate needles!"

"I'm doing this for Shifty. I can't stand seeing him like this. I know I've treated him like garbage in the past but this is a life or death situation. I just can't sit back and watch him die." Danny said.

"Maybe you really are good, after all." Splodge said.

"Now don't you think for a second that I'm going soft." Danny warned, "This is just a one-time thing."

"If you want to give him a blood transfusion, I advise you don't smoke. I'll test your blood tomorrow to see if you're fit to give Shifty one." Nurse Angelina said.

And with that, the black-furred dingo walked up to Shifty and squeezed Shifty's paw with his own paw, "It's okay, little brother. I'm here for you." Danny whispered sadly, choking back a few tears, "I'll always be your big brother no matter what." Danny squeezed his eyes shut as a single tear slid down his cheek.

Nurse Angelina sighed, "Visiting time is over, it's time to go home."

Everyone except Nutsy got up and walked out of the room. "It's time to leave, Nutsy." Nurse Angelina repeated.

Nutsy looked up at the wallaby with pleading, tear-filled eyes, "Please, I just want 10 more minutes with Shifty. You have no idea how much he means to me. I...I love him with all my heart. If I were a dingo, I'd give every last drop of my blood if it meant saving his life."

Angelina sighed, "Okay. 10 more minutes."

Nurse Angelina left the room and Nutsy stood by Shifty's hospital bed. The koala ran her fingers against the dingo's blond cheekfur. It felt cold to the touch and Nutsy felt her heart break.

"I love you, Shifty. Words can't describe how much I love you. You're my guardian angel and if you never see me again, I'll always have a place for you deep in my heart." Nutsy squeezed Shifty's paw and tears began to slide down her cheeks. She caressed Shifty's cheek, "I miss your warmth but when I close my eyes, I can feel it. I remember the first day we met in Greenpatch. You were so excited to meet other kids your age that you tripped over your own tail. It was the most adorable thing I've ever seen." Nutsy choked back a sob and wiped her tears, "I love you so much. I love you more than life itself. So please don't die, promise me you won't ever leave my side. Promise me, Shifty." And with that, Nutsy planted a kiss on Shifty's cold cheek and walked out of the room, sobbing.

As Nutsy left the room, a single sparkling tear dripped from the corner of Shifty's eye and soaked into the sheets of his hospital bed. If the litte dingo could speak, he would say "I promise."

Danny sat outside the hospital. Seeing his little brother suffering that much sickened him to his core. There was no way he could return home now and face Ma Dingo. The normally cool black dingo was trembling as he took out a cigarette. Even though Nurse Angelina warned him not to smoke before the blood transfusion, he was far too stressed and lit it up anyway. Danny puffed the smoke out and tried to get the image of Shifty in the hospital bed out of his brain.

"The nurse told you not to smoke before the blood transfusion, Danny." Daisy's voice rang out as she sat next to the stressed black dingo.

"I know. I just feel so...upset about this, you know? Shifty's dying and now I feel rotten all of a sudden." Danny said.

"It's a little feeling called guilt, Danny. Are you really that alien to it?" Daisy said sarcastically.

Danny sighed, "I guess I've always been to hard on the little guy."

"Ya think!" Daisy said, "you practically use him like a slave."

Danny growled, "Well, so do you!"

And with that, Daisy slapped Danny in the face and walked off the hospital property and headed to home. Danny sighed and waited outside the hospital for the rest of the night. The black dingo fell asleep outside when suddenly, a red convertible pulled up and flashed it's headlights on Danny.

The next thing Danny knew, he was being pinned to the outside wall of the hospital.

"Wakey-wakey, sleepyhead." A sadistic voice rang. Danny opened his eyes to see a massive kangaroo wearing an earring and letterman jacket standing in front of him, grabbing him by his throat.

"Who...who are you?" Danny asked.

Jeromy just grinned, "Your brother screamed quite nicely when I cut his tail off. And his blood tasted absolutely delicious, I'd love to put it on some french fries."

"You're the bastard who hurt Shifty!" Danny shouted.

"Hurting him? I was just doing my job, exterminating pests. You dingoes are so pesky, you make the funniest sounds when you're terrified or injured. Shifty was a pretty fun toy to play with, it's a shame I broke him. Whoopsie!" Jerome laughed.

"You make me sick." Danny snarled.

"What are you gonna do about it, tough guy? You gonna kill me? Ooooh, I'm so scared!" Jeromy laughed sarcastically, "You're so pathetic. Giving a blood transfusion to your mangy little pet, are we?"

"For your information, he's my BROTHER. And also, how do you know about the blood transfusion?" Danny asked.

"I bugged the hospital before you even arrived. I heard every last word of your conversation." Jeromy chuckled as he pulled out a syringe, "And now your plan to save poor widdle Shifty is gonna go down the toilet!"

And with that, Jeromy jabbed the needle into Danny's arm and he grinned evilly, "Nothing quite like killing two birds with one stone! Good luck donating blood to Shifty now cause you've been infected, you mangy piece of garbage!"

And with that, Jeromy got into his red convertible and drove off into the night.

Danny's eyes widened with horror, "Did...did he just inject me with HIV?" The black dingo asked himself.


	5. Revenge And Recovery

_One of the more bittersweet chapters in the fanfic._

"I'm sorry, Danny but you can't donate infected blood to Shifty. I hope you understand." Nurse Angelina said.

"I can't believe that psychopath injected me with aids just so I couldn't give a blood transfusion to Shifty." Danny muttered.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll donate my blood to Shifty." Daisy said, trying to comfort her brother. Daisy had never seen her Danny so depressed before in her whole life, maybe a bit disappointed when his schemes came undone, but never outright depressed.

"It makes me so angry. Even I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy. Whoever that kangaroo is, he's a true monster." Danny said.

"His name is Jeromy and he's my cousin." Splodge spoke up, "He's babysitting me while my parents are on a romantic getaway. He held a gun to my head and played Russian roulette with me. I was never so scared in my whole life."

Danny growled, "Someone needs to take him off the streets."

Suddenly, Blinky's mother entered the hospital looking worried, "I can't find my daughter, I looked everywhere for her."

Splodge felt his stomach ache, "I think I know where she might be."

Meanwhile, Nutsy was tied up in a shed and she was watching in horror as Jeromy heated up a cattle prod. In one hand, he held the prod and in his other was a machete. He grinned evilly at her.

"Why are you doing this? Why-" Nutsy was rudely interrupted by a steaming hot cattle prod being rammed into her cheek and she let out a squeal of pain.

Jeromy just snickered, "I like how you scream. Any friend of a dingo is an enemy of mine. I've never tortured a koala before so you should make some interesting noises when I rape you, you little bitch."

Nutsy simply spit on him and the kangaroo pressed his machete to her throat, "If you make me angry, I can always sodomize you with this little beauty. That'll get you singing in no time."

"Do whatever you want to me. Nothing is as painful to me as losing Shifty." Nutsy said.

"Oh, then would you like to hear how I burned the little pest with 24 matches, slowly cut his tail off and used it to strangle him?" Jeromy asked.

"Shut up." Nutsy said.

"The first match went on his gut, he let out a wonderful howl of pain." Jeromy began.

"Shut up." Nutsy said.

"The second match went on his little nose, a nice and tender area." Jeromy laughed.

"I said shut up!" Nutsy yelled.

"The third, fourth, fifth and sixth matches burned his fingers and toes. He cried quite nicely." Jeromy giggled.

"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP YOU SON OF A-" Nutsy screamed.

"Or what? You're gonna talk me to death? In case you haven't noticed, I have no plans to stop my dingo extermination. If it means nuking the entire continent of Australia and bombing every zoo in the world to get rid of the dingoes, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Now prepare to be raped, you stupid little bitch." Jeromy laughed.

Suddenly, a gunshot went off and Jeromy fell dead to the floor. Nutsy looked over and saw Danny Dingo holding a gun, "Good riddance." the black-furred dingo said, blowing the smoke off his gun. And with that, Danny helped untie Nutsy.

"Thanks, Danny. But why are you helping me?" Nutsy asked.

"I can't sit back and watch a child be raped by a scumbag. Even I have my standards." Danny Dingo said.

"I don't think one little gunshot is enough." Nutsy growled, glaring with intense hatred at Jeromy's corpse. Without warning, Nutsy grabbed Jeromy's machete and began to wildly stab at the kangaroo, cutting his heart, lungs and others organs out of his body. Danny watched in shock and horror as Nutsy violently mutilated Jeromy's dead body.

"I think he's dead, you can stop now." Danny said.

"Dead isn't good enough, I'm gonna break him apart till I can't see his face anymore." Nutsy growled, stabbing Jeromy's eyeballs out of their sockets and beginning to saw at Jeromy's neck. It wasn't long before Jeromy was completely beheaded and Nutsy began plunging the machete into his neck stump, ripping out his windpipe. She then began cutting his limbs and tail off in a fit of pure hate and rage.

"IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU. HOW DARE YOU HURT MY SHIFTY YOU HORRIBLE PIECE OF SHIT!" Nutsy screamed as she disemboweled the kangaroo.

Danny was taken aback by Nutsy's cursing but he was glad Jeromy was finally dead. When Nutsy was done, she poured gasoline of Jeromy's dismembered body and dropped a lit match on it. Nutsy and Danny ran out of the shed and the whole place went up in smoke.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Shifty's eyes began to open and he looked around himself. The little dingo pressed the call button for the nurse. Nurse Angelina walked in on Shifty and gasped. He was alive! "Nurse, what just happened to me? Why am I here?"

Nurse Angelina could barely contain her joy as she burst into happy tears. The wallaby nurse rushed into the waiting room, "Shifty's alive, everyone!" she screamed with joy.

Immediately, Blinky, Flap, Splodge, Marcia, Daisy, Meatball and Ma Dingo rushed into the room. Daisy was so ecstatic she threw her arms around Shifty and pulled him into a great big hug. Shifty could feel Daisy's tears of joy falling like rain upon him, "I'm glad to see you too, Daisy." Shifty chuckled.

Blinky walked up to Shifty and looked at him with apologetic tears in his eyes, "I'm so sorry about breaking your cookies and making you cry the other day, Shifty. I was a big stinky fart. Please forgive me?"

Shifty chuckled a bit, "Don't sweat it, Blinky. It's all water under the bridge." Shifty looked around the room and blinked, "Anyway, I'm so confused here. Can anyone fill me in on exactly whats going on?"

Splodge stepped forward, "My evil cousin Jeromy kidnapped you and he tortured you so bad that Wombo found you and carried you to the hospital."

Daisy continued, "You were unconcious when you got here and there wasn't enough dingo blood to keep you alive so Danny volunteered a blood transfusion but Jeromy attacked him with a syringe and infected him with HIV so I gave you a blood transfusion."

Shifty blinked and scratched his head, "Looks like I missed out on a lot. This is all new information to me." The dingo sighed.

Suddenly Danny entered the room, "You bet it is, Nutsy and I got our sweet revenge." Danny said.

Shifty blinked again, "What are you talking about?" Shifty sniffed a bit, "and why do you smell like blood and gasoline, Nutsy? Everyone, could you please clear out? I'd like to talk to Nutsy and Danny in private."

"Sure thing, Shifty." Splodge said. And they all exited the room except for Nutsy, Danny and Shifty.

"Well..."Nutsy began.

Shifty gasped, "you killed him, didn't you?"

"No, it was actually Danny who pulled the trigger on Jeromy, I helped torch his body and cut him up." Nutsy confessed.

Shifty glared at Danny and Nutsy, "I can't believe you two would do this. Murder is illegal, you two could be locked up and I'd never see you again." he snarled.

"But Shifty, we got rid of him. He's gone. He won't hurt another dingo ever..." Danny said.

"I DON'T CARE!" Shifty shouted, "You could have done the right thing and called the police, you could have just locked him up."

The little dingo then turned to Nutsy with tears in his eyes, "Nutsy, I thought you were smarter than this. Look at yourself, just look at yourself. You smell like blood and gas. I thought you were my friend, Nutsy. Why?"

Nutsy sighed, "I was so angry at him cause he hurt you so I confronted him at Splodge's house and..."

"You did WHAT?" Shifty screamed, "Are you CRAZY? Did you just switch bodies with Marcia? He could've KILLED you! What if I woke up and found out you were dead? I'd be heartbroken! How could you do this, Nutsy? How...how could you?" Shifty started to cry, hugging Nutsy's doll and curling up into a fetal position.

"Shifty, I..." Nutsy began.

"No, just SHUT UP, GO AWAY and LEAVE ME ALONE!" Shifty screamed through his tears.

Danny sighed, "Come on, Nutsy. Let's just give him some alone time."

The black dingo and koala left the room. Nutsy looked back to the shivering blond dingo and whispered softly, "Oh Shifty. I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry." a tear rolled down her cheek and she wiped it away.

Memories raced through Shifty's brain as he remembered how all the kids in Greenpatch used to pick on him, sometimes to the point where he would cry himself to sleep at night. Not once did his big brother Danny hug him or wipe away his tears, all he did was use him for slave labor like he was some sort of object. He remembered the time he broke his leg and his mother kept him holed up in his room all by his lonely self. He remembered how he was separated from his family during the earthquake and how much he missed them despite all the mean things Danny did to him. He remembered how he was kidnapped by Jeromy, tortured with matches, had his tail cut off and was left to die in the woods all alone. And now, Danny was infected with HIV and Nutsy, the one person he trusted with all his heart betrayed him by putting herself in danger. The poor little dingo clutched Nutsy's doll tightly to his chest and cried for two hours straight. Shifty had literally cried himself to sleep, his cheeks and muzzle completely drenched with tears and his eyes totally red from crying so hard. The sheets of his hospital bed were covered with a mixture of snot and tears and he was completely exhausted.

The sun shown through the hospital windows and Shifty opened his eyes, Nurse Angelina was standing over him. "Hello there, Shifty. And how are you today?"

Shifty didn't say a word, he just looked at the wallaby nurse with the most heartbroken look on his face. It was as if someone broke his spirit to the point where he went mute. All he did was let out a soft whimper.

Nurse Angelina sighed, "I checked your vitals, you seem to be healthy but you should be careful with your tail." Shifty whimpered and got up out of bed. He sadly waved goodbye to the wallaby nurse and headed towards school. Nurse Angelina couldn't help but feel there was something very wrong with him.

The dingo walked into the classroom and sat down, "Oh hi there, Shifty. I'm glad your feeling better." Shifty let out a soft whimper and looked at Miss Magpie like a tortured puppy.

"Nutsy won't be joining us for class today, she's being held at the Greenpatch juvenile detention facility." Miss Magpie announced. Shifty hung his head, he felt like his heart had been shattered into a million pieces.

"Hey Shifty, cat got your tongue?" Marcia asked. Shifty whimpered.

"Why aren't you talking? Say something, Shifty!" Flap said. Shifty began writing on a piece of paper and handed it to Flap and Marcia, it read, "Just leave me alone, guys. Just leave me alone." The platypus and mouse looked at each other and sighed.

For the rest of the day, Shifty was completely silent. Whenever Miss Magpie asked him a question, he would whimper softly and look at her with heartbroken puppydog eyes. Eventually lunch time came around and Splodge sat by the little dingo and put his arm around him, "You haven't said a word all day, Shifty. Are you all right?"

Shifty took out a piece of paper and began writing words on it, "I have no friends." With tears in his eyes, Shifty handed the kangaroo the note and Splodge's heart broke, "Oh no, Shifty. That's not true. I'm your friend, Nutsy's your friend..."

Shifty simply got up and slowly left the school ground, his ears and broken tail wilted as he sniffled softly. Splodge felt a few tears come to his eyes as he watched the dingo leave the school, "Poor kid." Splodge muttered to himself.

Shifty arrived home early, "Playing hooky now, are we?" Danny's voice came out. The black dingo stepped out and gave Shifty a noogie. Shifty just whimpered sadly as he slowly walked to his room without a word.

Shifty collapsed on his bed, his face wet from crying. He whimpered softly and buried his face into his pillow. He sniffled softly and began to cry.

A week had passed and Shifty didn't say a single word. Daisy was starting to get worried, "What's wrong with Shifty, Ma? He hasn't said a single word for a week. All he does is stay in his room and cry."

"He's probably just depressed." Ma snorted, "He'll get over it, just give him time."

Daisy looked over to Shifty and she watched a single tear fall from Shifty's eye and land on Nutsy's flower, the very same flower that Nutsy's father gave to him. When he and Nutsy began dating, she gave it to him as a gift along with her doll. Whenever Shifty had a hard day and Nutsy wasn't there to comfort him, he's always hug her doll to make him feel better.

Daisy sighed, "Poor kid, I'm gonna have him talk to the school psychologist. I can't stand seeing him like this."

"Have a blast with that." Ma grunted sarcastically, "After all, quacks know more than mothers do."

Daisy glared at her mother, "You hardly even bond with Shifty, how do you know anything about his true feelings?"

"I just do, it's called instinct." Ma said.

"Well, anyway I'm taking Shifty to meet this psychiatrist. It'll probably be healthy for him." Daisy said.

"You know what, Daisy? I'm not even gonna try to stop you. You kids are just too darn stubborn for your own good." Ma Dingo said.

And with that, Daisy and Shifty exited the house. Shifty looked up at Daisy with the most heartbroken and tear-filled look in his eyes. Daisy knelt down and hugged Shifty, "You sure have been through a lot..." a single tear trickled down Daisy's muzzle as she embraced her emotionally broken little brother.


	6. The Trial

_Awww….Shifty and Nutsy make up and…..make out?_

Daisy and Shifty entered the school office and sat down. Daisy looked down at the heartbroken little dingo and saw a tear on his face. She swished her tail and her tail gently wiped Shifty's tear away, "You know, Shifty. I just can't believe Ma at times. I know she cares for us but it isn't true family bonding." Daisy said. Shifty slowly nodded and gave a weak sniffle.

Miss Magpie entered the room, "There you are, Shifty. Daisy, do you realize your brother's been truant for class for a week?"

Daisy nodded, "He's been very depressed all week. Cried himself to sleep every night. Hasn't said a single word so I'm taking him to see the school psychologist."

"Oh." Miss Magpie said, "So you're waiting for Daphna? She's busy talking with Blinky's parents about Nutsy right now but you can always wait."

Daisy sighed. She actually found herself feeling sorry for the koala family, having one kid sent to military school and the other to juvie.

Shifty let out an adorable whimper that could melt even the hardest of hearts and looked up at Daisy with sad puppydog eyes.

Half an hour passed and Daphna opened the door, she appeared to be a young adult sugar glider, "You must be Daisy and Shifty. Come on in." the two dingoes entered the room.

"What seems to be the problem?" Daphna asked.

"Well, you see, Shifty has gone mute and refuses to go to school. All he does is cry in his room. Normally, he's happy about going to school. He's shy, but he's very bright and helpful. Poor kid was almost killed by a psychopath and had to stay in the hospital." Daisy explained.

"Oh my heavens, you poor thing!" Daphna gasped, petting Shifty on the head. "You said he went mute?"

"Sometimes he communicates through writing on paper." Daisy said, "Danny jokingly told him he'd go to hell for killing trees and that made him feel upset."

Daphna handed Shifty a pencil and paper, "Here, Shifty. I'd like you to tell me what you want more than anything right now."

Shifty took the pencil and paper and stared at them blankly for 3 minutes. Eventually, he drew a picture of himself with a little tear running down his face and a speech bubble saying, "I only want Nutsy. I miss her so much."

Daphna looked at the drawing and tears filled her eyes. The sugar glider sighed as she wiped her eyes a little and handed the dingo another sheet of paper, "Now I want you to write a letter to Nutsy and I want you to write it from the bottom of your heart. Mean every word that you say and say it like you really mean it." she said.

And with that, Shifty began writing on the paper in front of him.

The next day, the residents of Greenpatch all arrived at the courthouse and everyone was talking.

"I heard Danny Dingo and Nutsy are gonna be on trial for murdering your cousin, Splodge." Marcia said.

"Well I say good riddance, that guy was pure evil. Did you know he abused Carmen?" Splodge asked Marcia.

"Whose Carmen?" Marcia asked.

"His ex-dingo girlfriend. When he found out she cheated on him, he burned her baby brother alive." Splodge explained.

Marcia cringed, "Even THAT shouldn't happen to a dingo!"

The judge, an old lyrebird banged his gavel, "ORDER! ORDER IN THE COURT!"

Danny's eyes darted over to the judge's nametag and it said "Judge Mark T. Winkles" The black dingo began snickering and chuckling a bit.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY, BLACKIE?" Judge Winkles shouted.

"Winkles..." Danny giggled.

"YOU THINK MY NAME IS FUNNY NOW DO YOU, BLACKIE? I CAN HOLD YOU IN CONTEMPT OF COURT IF I WANTED!" Judge Winkles boomed.

"Sorry." Danny chuckled.

" WELL, LET'S GET ON WITH THE TRIAL NOW SHALL WE, LET'S START WITH YOU NUTSY. DO YOU SPEAK THE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE WHOLE TRUTH?" Winkles asked.

"I do your honor." Nutsy said softly.

Nutsy stood up at the podium and Jeromy's parents' lawyer, a numbat wearing glasses named Kenneth paced back and fourth as he talked, "Now Nutsy, are you responsible for murdering Jeromy Kangaroo?"

"Of course not, Danny fired the shot that killed him, I just cut up his body because I was mad he hurt Shifty." Nutsy said.

The whole town of Greenpatch gasped. "Jerk had it coming to him." Danny said.

Shifty handed Nutsy a letter and she took it and unfolded it.

"NUTSY, I HEREBY SENTENCE YOU TO-" Judge Winkles began.

"STOP!" Nutsy shouted. "Can I at least read what Shifty gave me?"

"VERY WELL THEN, NUTSY YOU CAN READ THE PIECE OF PAPER SHIFTY GAVE TO YOU!" Judge Winkles shouted.

"Nice indoor voice there, Winkles." Danny snickered sarcastically.

Nutsy unfloded the paper and began reading, "Dear Nutsy, you are the light of my dark life. Everytime I cry, you are the sunshine that dries my tears and fills my heart with warmth. Before I met you, I was a mess. My family sometimes treated me like a slave even. Nutsy, you are my beautiful guardian angel. Peace fills my heart as you wrap your arms around me and cradle me with your warmth. You are the one who taught me the true meaning of love and for that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. After the earthquake hit Greenpatch, you, Blinky, Splodge, Flap, even Marcia became like family to me. We always looked out for each other, but you and I have a very special bond. You listened to me and told me everything would be all right. No one has ever spoken those words to me before I met you. So please, don't go away and get locked up, for I shall miss you so and become an empty shell. You will always be in my heart no matter what. Forever yours, Shifty Dingo."

At this point, Nutsy had tears rolling down her cheeks and she looked around her, everyone else was crying, including the judge himself. Splodge and Flap were hugging each other and bawling and when no one was looking, Danny reached up to wipe a tear from his eye.

"So darn sappy I could puke." Danny sniffled.

"THAT WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING I HAD EVER HEARD! SHIFTY HAS THE TRUE HEART OF A POET AND DEEPLY CARES ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PERSONAL WELL-BEING!" Judge Winkles shouted.

Nutsy was so touched that she ran to Shifty and threw her arms around him, "Thank you, Shifty. Thank you. You have no idea how much that speech meant to me."

"I just want you to know that I forgive you for putting yourself in danger. Promise me you won't ever do it again." Shifty said as a single silver tear escaped his right eye and trailed down his muzzle to the tip of his nose.

Daisy couldn't believe it, Shifty spoke for the first time in two weeks. A few tears of joy ran down her face.

Nutsy smiled and licked the tear off Shifty's nose, "I promise, Shifty." And with that the koala leaned forward and nipped Shifty gently on the ear.

Shifty moaned with joy, "It feels so good, Nutsy." The dingo leaned forward and started licking at Nutsy's neck. She could feel the warm strokes of Shifty's tongue and she moaned out of pure pleasure. The entire town of Greenpatch watched in shock and bewilderment at Shifty and Nutsy's somewhat erotic display of public affection.

"Oh Shifty, your tongue feels so warm and nice. I have an idea." Nutsy said.

Shifty stopped licking and pulled back, "And what might that be?"

Nutsy leaned forward and whispered into Shifty's ear, "My parents do it sometimes, it's called Frenching. You stick your tongue in my mouth, I stick my tongue in yours and..."

Shifty pulled back, blushing like crazy, "That's just so...so...so...naughty! Licking my tears is one thing, nipping my ear is another but that? Um, no thank you. So how about we nuzzle instead?"

Nutsy smiled, "I'm fine with that." And with that, the koala pressed her short face against Shifty's long snout and they nuzzled each other. They were so caught up in the moment, they just didn't care the whole town of Greenpatch was watching.

"I love you so much, cuddle-pie." Shifty said.

"I love you too, puppy-cakes." Nutsy said.

"Oh, get a room you two!" Danny Dingo groaned

"I think I just lost my appetite." Flap said.

"I know! What a couple of sappy-dappies!" Marcia said.

Judge Winkles banged his gavel, "ORDER! ORDER IN THE COURT!"

Meatball raised his paw, "Yes, I'll have an order of french toast sticks please!"

"WE CAN ALL HAVE FRENCH TOAST STICKS AT BURGER KING WHEN THE TRIAL IS OVER!" Winkles shouted.

"Since when does Greenpatch have a Burger King and how did it get here?" Flap asked.

"Deforestation." Shifty Dingo replied sarcastically.

Danny slapped his paw to his forehead and groaned, "So embarassing..."

"HOW DOES THE JURY FIND THE DEFENDANT?" Judge Winkles roared.

Miss Magpie stood up, "We the jury find the defendant not guilty of arson and destroying evidence."

"I'm so happy for you, Nutsy!" Shifty wept with joy, a waterfall of tears streaming down his cheeks as he embraced her.

"Danny is going on trial next." Nutsy said, "Do you think he'll be found guilty?"

"Oh, I don't think so, Nutsy." Shifty said as his mood went sour and his ears wilted, "I know so."

The judge banged his gavel, "NOW WILL BLACKIE PLEASE COME TO THE STAND?"

"Danny." The dark-furred dingo corrected the judge.

"BLACKIE, DANNY, WHATEVER. THEY BOTH HAVE THE LETTER "A" IN THEM. DO YOU SWEAR TO TELL THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH?" Winkles asked.

Danny rolled his eyes, "Of course I do"

"GOOD, THEN CAN YOU TELL US WHAT HAPPENED TWO WEEKS AGO?" Winkles asked.

"Sure, your honor." Danny said, "Shifty was almost murdered by Jeromy and I offered him a blood transfusion. Turns out, Jeromy bugged the hospital and sabotaged my plan by infecting me with AIDS. I then got revenge by shooting Jeromy in the head. If I didn't, Nutsy would have been raped. Now I may be a liar and a cheat but child rape is just plain disgusting in my eyes."

"YOU CONFESSED WAY TOO EASILY TO MURDER. THIS HAS GOT TO BE MY EASIEET CASE YET." Judge Winkles shouted, "HAS THE JURY REACHED A VERDICT?"

"We have, your honor." Miss Magpie said, "We, the jury find Danny Dingo guilty of manslaughter."

" GUILTY! FIVE YEARS IN PRISON, DANNY DINGO!" Judge Winkles boomed.

Shifty's ears wilted and his eyes glistened with tears, "I knew it, I just knew it." the little dingo said, burying his face into Nutsy's side as he began crying. Nutsy kept her arm wrapped around her mammalian boyfriend, gently rubbing his back as he wept.

As Danny was being led out if the courtroom, he turned to Shifty, "I'm sorry, little brother. Please forgive me." He whispered sadly, forcing back a lump in his throat.


	7. Mercykill

_You're gonna feel sorry for Danny Dingo. Yeah, you heard me right. I said Danny Dingo._

After 3 agonizing years of living with AIDS behind bars, Danny Dingo was finally released on parole back into society. Over the years he had gotten very sickly from the virus but he fought it back through sheer willpower and determination.

Shifty was up and ready to go to school, he was in a particularly bright and cheerful mood as he bounded up to Danny, "Good morning, Danny. I'm so glad you've been released, now I can spend time with you."

Suddenly, Shifty noticed something was wrong with Danny. He was sobbing quietly. Without warning, the black dingo knelt down and wrapped his arms around Shifty, "I'm so sorry for everything I ever put you through, Shifty. I'm so, so very sorry." he cried, tears streaming down his muzzle.

Shifty blinked, "Are you feeling okay, Danny? You're hugging me...and you're crying."

Danny sniffled and wiped his eyes, "There, I admit it. I'm a wimp. Just laugh all you want at me."

Shifty frowned and returned the hug, "There's nothing wrong with crying, Danny. I'm a boy and I cry all the time when I feel sad. It's so much better to let it all out than bottle it up inside, you know."

Danny sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Shifty smiled, "So, I'll be seeing you after school, okay?" Danny nodded and wiped his eyes.

And with that, Shifty left for school. Daisy walked up to Danny and looked at him, "Danny, I had no idea."

Danny growled, "I wasn't crying okay, Daisy? I just have allergies."

Daisy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, whatever tough guy. I'll see you when I get back from the salon."

Danny looked outside and he saw Meatball playing with Shifty's toy trucks. With Ma Dingo out shopping, now was his chance. Danny walked into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, "You've been through so much, haven't you? All those schemes, all those scams, yet you never found the true meaning of happiness. You walk through life, always taking the wrong path. Everyone hates you, even your own family." Danny said to his reflection, feeling his eyes mist up with tears.

The black dingo took a gun out of the medicine chest and loaded it with a single bullet. He closed his eyes and began to reflect on his own life. He remembers the days Ma Dingo was cheerful and how she would always play with him but then he began to remember his father. His father was an insane religeous zealot who hated him because he was born with black fur. He called Danny the devil and would try to "beat" the "demons" out of Danny with a belt and lock him in a closet. Several times he would cry himself to sleep in the dark closet and the only thing that quenched his thrirst at night were his own salty tears. The abuse went on for months until one day, Pa Dingo went too far and kicked Danny off a cliff. Danny only suffered a few broken ribs but Pa was sent to a mental institution after the incident. Afterwards, Ma Dingo grew bitter, grouchy and cold. All the love, all the warmth and all the compassion for Danny flew out the window and his mother began treating him like trash, often selling him off to men in exchange for sex to get pregnant then buying him back only to do it again. It wasn't long before she became pregnant with Daisy, Meatball and finally Shifty. She had a total of 3 litters and she would keep only one pup from each litter and sell the rest for drug money. Those 3 lucky pups were Daisy, Meatball and Shifty. She named Meatball when she was high off marijuana. Danny's life was at a downward spiral. He didn't know the true meaning of love anymore. All the love in his heart was gone and replaced with anger and rage. He became manipulative and began cheating, gambling, scamming, anything he could do to support his mother. And then, they moved to Greenpatch. Ma Dingo met Wombo and he helped her to kick her drug habit but her anger problems and aggression just did not go away. Danny squeezed his eyes shut against the sting of tears and whimpered, "What a fantastic life you lead, Danny Dingo." he sarcastically told his reflection in the mirror. There was no way he could tell any of this to Shifty. The insane father, Shifty's siblings being sold for drug money, cause if he did, the poor little dingo's fragile spirit would be broken beyond repair.

Danny sighed and tried his hardest not to cry, just thinking about it. Living a life like that then slowly dying from AIDS that a monster injected into him. It was just too much for him to bear. Better to die a quick death than a slow painful one. He put the gun to his head and fired. Silence.

Shifty was at school when Miss Magpie got a call. He could clearly hear Daisy's hysterical voice from across the classroom. Daisy had gone back to the dingo residence because she forgot her purse and found Danny lying in a pool of blood on the floor. Danny Dingo was declared dead on the scene. The little dingo was completely shocked and saddend by the news. The entire class heard it and turned to Shifty who was now reduced to an inconsolable sobbing mess. Nutsy simply wrapped her arms around Shifty and held him tightly, letting his tears soak into her dress and fur. Shifty just cried and cried and cried and the whole class tried their best to cheer him up. Miss Magpie dismissed the class for the rest of the day, sending Shifty home.

A funeral service was held for Danny Dingo and Shifty watched as the coffin was lowered. He heard some people attenting the funeral insulting Danny and it just broke his little heart to pieces. Some residents even went as far as spitting on Danny's coffin and telling him that he deserved it. Shifty felt like he could literally cry an ocean as Nutsy held him the entire time. She gently wiped the tears away from Shifty's cheeks and muzzle. Nutsy whispered into his ear, telling him that they didn't really mean all those terrible things they said to Danny. By the time the funeral was over, everyone left with the exception of Nutsy and Shifty.

"Danny. You'll always be my big brother no matter what...always". Shifty sniffled, placing the flower Nutsy's father gave him on Danny's tombstone. It wasn't long before Shifty broke down again and Nutsy watched helplessly as Shifty's tears fell like rain upon Danny's grave.

"Shifty..." Nutsy whispered softly. It wasn't long before rain clouds grew overhead and it came down pouring. Shifty knelt in the cold pouring rain before Danny's grave shivering, a mixture of cold freshwater rain and his own hot salty tears rolling down his muzzle. It was as if the heavens were crying alongside Shifty.

Nutsy rubbed the dingo's back and gently licked the mixture of rain and tears off Shifty's muzzle. She had seen Shifty cry many times before in her life but this time was different, this time Shifty looked like a complete mess, soaked from head to toe in pouring rain, eyes completely red from crying, his fur matted from all the rain, tears and snot. It was the most heartbreaking thing she saw in her life.

Nutsy crawled up to Shifty and put her arm around him. The little dingo sniffled as several tears ran down his muzzle. He gently wiped his muzzle with his paw and sighed. "Oh Shifty, I...I don't know what to say. I'm sorry, I really truly am so sorry for your loss." Nutsy said.

Shifty just let out a whimper, "Thanks, Nutsy. It's just so awful...I...the pain...it feels like my heart has been ripped out of my chest and set on fire."

"If I could turn back time so I could heal you, I'd do it in a heartbeat." Nutsy said as she softly kissed Shifty's tearstained face and held him close to her, licking his salty tears and gently running her fingers through the fur of Shifty's bushy tail.

"Nutsy...I...I..." Shifty was speechless, he just threw his arms around the koala and pulled her into a warm embrace. He hugged her for 15 minutes straight before releasing her. Nutsy smiled and looked over to Danny's sunglasses that lay beside his grave.

Nutsy picked up Danny's sunglasses and put them on her face, "Hey Shifty, I have a really great plan, first we'll take all the gold and buy ourselves a mansion!" Nutsy said, mimicing Danny's voice. Much to Nutsy's surprise, Shifty smiled. And then he laughed. And then the laugh turned into a fit of giggles. "You're too young to understand it, Shifty. Your juvenile little mind will explode if you try figuring it out". Nutsy said, still mimicing Danny's voice.

A new kind of tears were rolling down Shifty's face, tears of laughter, "Stop it, Nutsy. I...I'm gonna bust a gut laughing!" Nutsy just smiled at Shifty and set Danny's sunglasses back down. The two walked off into the sunset away from Danny's grave.

As they reached the horizon, the koala and dingo gazed deep into each other's eyes and kissed each other on the lips.

"Thank you for always being there for me." Shifty said.

"Your welcome." Nutsy replied. "But no matter what happens, I want you to know that your brother Danny cares for you deep down. He may not show it but he really does."

Shifty snffed and wiped one last tear from his eye, "That's why I was crying so hard. I never got to see the love Danny was capable of."

Nutsy hugged Shifty, "Come on, Shifty. Let's go back to my place and warm up a little. We'll both catch colds out here." Shifty just smiled at her and nodded.

The koala and dingo entered the koala residence and Nutsy's father saw them, "You two must be soaking wet from being out in the rain. I'll make you two some hot chocolate and get a fire going." He handed Shifty Dingo a blanket and Nutsy and Shifty sat down by the fireplace. They gazed into each others eyes and Shifty wrapped the blanket around him and Nutsy as they huddled close. Nutsy didn't seem to mind Shifty's wet dog smell as she rested her head on his chest. Eventually Nutsy's father got the fire going and gave them hot chocolate.

Shifty took a sip of his and sighed contently, "The fire feels so warm when I'm next to you. Nutsy, let me just say I'll cherish this moment forever." he said as he nuzzled Nutsy's cheek with his long muzzle.

Nutsy leaned in close and licked the side of Shifty's muzzle, "Me too, Shifty. Me too."

The koala and dingo fell asleep together by the warm fire, cuddled up in a blanket. Nutsy's father looked at them and smiled, "Kids these days." he laughed softly.

The end. Credits roll:

_I'm a heartbreak beat  
>Yeah, all night long<br>And nobody don't dance on the edge of the dark  
>We've got the radio on<br>And it feels like love  
>But it don't mean a lot<br>And it feels like love  
>And it's all that we've got<em>

_There's a heartbreak beat playin' all night long_  
><em>Down on my street<em>  
><em>And it feels like love got the radio on<em>  
><em>And it's all that we need<em>  
><em>There's a heartbreak beat<em>  
><em>And it feels like love<em>  
><em>There's a heartbreak beat<em>  
><em>And it feels like love<em>

_Well the beat don't stop_  
><em>We talk so tough<em>  
><em>And there's a perfect kiss, somewhere out in the dark<em>  
><em>But a kiss ain't enough<em>  
><em>And the world don't stop<em>  
><em>Every time that you call<em>  
><em>And the world don't stop<em>  
><em>Every time that you fall<em>

_There's a heartbreak beat playin' all night long_  
><em>Down on my street<em>  
><em>And it feels like love got the radio on<em>  
><em>And it's all that we need<em>  
><em>There's a heartbreak beat<em>  
><em>And it feels like love<em>  
><em>There's a heartbreak beat<em>  
><em>And it feels like love<em>

-The Psychedelic Furs, Heartbreak Beat


End file.
